Sam Greene | Columbus DispatchThe Coffman bench hands their heads as they trail late in the fourth quarter.

Sam Greene | Columbus DispatchThe Coffman bench hands their heads as they trail late in the fourth quarter.

Sam Greene | Columbus DispatchThe final buzzer sounds as time runs out in the fourth quarter.

View SlideshowRequest to buy this photoSam Greene | DISPATCH photosHoover’s Lexi Manos, right, steals the ball from Coffman’s Haleigh Gilliland during the third quarter. The Shamrocks had 20 turnovers in the game, including 12 in the first half.

The game plan that Dublin Coffman coach Bryan Patton laid out for his players was simple enough
during a week of practice that included hours of video study on North Canton Hoover.

There would be ball screens, back-door cuts and, most of all, getting the ball inside to center
Sade Olatoye.

Those plans, however, were blown up shortly after tip-off as Hoover threw the Shamrocks off
their game with an aggressive defense in coming away with a 61-44 victory in a Division I state
semifinal before 6,359 at Value City Arena.

Coffman (22-7) committed 12 turnovers in the first half, which figured greatly in a 14-point
halftime deficit.

“Offensively and defensively, they did what they wanted to do on both (ends) of the floor,”
Patton said. “We had a hard time getting into our offense.”

There were few tears from the Shamrocks, who overcame a knee injury to Olatoye as well as other
bumps, bruises and sickness to get to their first state tournament. The players think this is far
from being a one-year phenomenon. Only forward Griffin Tullis will graduate among the players in
the rotation.

“We faced a ton of adversity,” point guard Kamerine Taylor said. “Being a younger team (and
having gone through that) will help us in the long run.”

The Shamrocks’ problem in the first half was twofold: turnovers against the pressure and an
inability to keep Stroemple and Worley away from the basket. Hoover had 22 points in the lane in
the first half.

Vikings coach Abbey Allerding said the plan was to have Kaitlyn Runner pressure Taylor shortly
after she crossed midcourt.

Coffman was backpedaling after Stroemple’s follow-up made it 13-4 with 2:23 left in the first
quarter. The lead was 23-9 just 37 seconds into the second on a driving layup by Stroemple.

“You come into a new venue, a big arena, and it was, ‘Take it to the hole,’ ” Allerding said. “
Obviously, Sade Olatoye is a very good basketball player. When we got her into foul trouble, it was
important for us to go at her.”

Olatoye was charged with her second foul with 21/2 minutes left in the second quarter, her third
1:04 into the third quarter and fourth at 5:48 of the third. She was the driving force for the
Shamrocks in the regional tournament, but managed seven points and eight rebounds against the
Vikings (26-2).

“It is my job to rebound, and in the first half I didn’t do a very good job,” Olatoye said.

The slow start, she said, was out of character for the Shamrocks.

“It’s what we’re all about — getting it out at the beginning,” she said.

Coffman cut the deficit to 40-33 with 1:30 left in the third quarter on a drive by Christine
Szabo, but Hoover scored seven straight points.

“That summed up the game right there,” Taylor said. “Every time we got a run, they went on a
streak. They fed off that.”